Photo of students appearing to grope teacher sparks investigation

The mother of one of those girls, who did not want to be identified, said the girls never actually touched Douglas.

“There were so many pictures being taken. They were just having fun. That was it. That was the end of it,” she said.

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The mother said she was present when the photo, which was obtained by Beaver Countian, was taken during prom night, which Douglas was chaperoning.

“(The photo) was innocently done but stupidly done,” she said.

According to the mother, Douglas, who teaches chemistry at the high school, did nothing wrong.

“If you notice in the picture, her arms are behind her back,” she said.

The mother told WPXI that when the superintendent found out about the image, she and her daughter were called in for a meeting.

“It's completely innocent. The problem is social media making a big deal out of nothing,” the mother said she told school officials.

The mother said she does not want to see Douglas disciplined and neither does her daughter, who sees Douglas as a second mother and friend.

“She's devastated. She wishes she could turn back and really understand what it means to put something out there,” the mother said.

Meanwhile, Rochester Area School District Superintendent Jane Bovalino issued the following statement on the matter:

“The district is aware of the photograph. The behavior depicted does not represent the behavior that we expect from our staff. As this is a personnel issue, I cannot comment further other than to say it is under investigation.”